In Oregon's Willamette Valley, the race to save the endangered Fender's blue butterfly

Oregonian:

Sometime in the 1930s, the butterflies disappeared. Some people thought they were gone forever.

But their rediscovery in the late 1980s sparked hope. People like Schultz are now working to save the Fender's blue, one of Oregon's 20 endangered species, from slipping away forever....

That's why groups like the nonprofit insect advocates The Xerces Society are willing to turn to the courts.

Last year, the group threatened to sue Yamhill County for its roadwork, which Xerces said was destroying Fender's blue habitat. This year, the county is developing a habitat conservation plan so they make sure they're in compliance with the endangered species act.

"If we're going to protect these butterflies," says Xerces executive director Scott Black, "we have to protect the sites on which they remain."

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